If You Can’t Afford a Lawyer, One Won’t Be Appointed to You

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Since the new administration took over, immigration detentions have increased by 35 percent, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data. And many end up in immigration detention centers, which are essentially like prisons.

But unlike people in prison, immigrants in detention do not have the right to get legal representation provided by the government. So without public defenders, they’re left to navigate a pretty confusing system on their own.

Lola Bovell is a managing attorney for The Florence Project in Arizona, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal help to immigrants in detention.